China in race for counter-drone tech and laser weapons as it tries to catch up with US
But with the technology moving at such a rapid pace, ‘these systems are nearly obsolete by the time they are tested’
China is moving to develop laser weapons and counter-drone systems as it tries to catch up with the United States on unmanned aerial vehicle technology to boost its intelligence and attack capabilities, according to military analysts.
That includes systems to protect its drones so that they are less vulnerable to lasers and spoofing techniques that send false information to UAVs. One system under development is Silent Hunter, a portable drone-killing laser weapon that is said to have a firing range of up to 4km and was demonstrated at a defence conference in Abu Dhabi in February.
Poly Technologies, the company behind the Chinese counter-drone system, said it could pierce five layers of 2mm-thick steel plates from a distance of 800m, or 5mm plates from 1km away.
But experts say the US anti-drone systems are more advanced than China’s, and they have a bigger range and more types of sensing technology available from a greater number of companies.
The US has more than 60 counter-drone systems or products that use radar, radio frequency, electro-optical and acoustic detecting and tracking to intercept enemy drones and either stop them, hijack their communication link or destroy them with lasers or projectiles, according to a report by the Centre for the Study of the Drone at Bard College in New York in February.